INTRODUCTION BY THE HON. MICHAEL REFALO, MINISTER FOR TOURISM, AT THE PRESENTATION "ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT ON MALTESE TOURIST GUIDES FOLLOWING HARMONISATION WITH THE ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE AND THE QUALITY OF GUIDED TOURS IN MALTA

It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here with you this evening and to invite you to renew your acquaintance with the members of the team of experts commissioned and funded by the European Union to advise on the new challenges and the exciting opportunities which await the members of your profession following harmonization of Maltese legislation and practices and accession to the European Union.

It is my privilege to introduce Professor Scipioni, the team leader, Dr. D'Amico and Mr. Skinner, the experts on guiding legislation, who will make this evening's presentation and answer your questions, as well as Dr. Downes, Dr. Gera de Petri and Ms. Ambrosino who are mainly involved in the second task, namely that focusing on hotel and travel agency operations as a result of compliance with EU legislation and the Adoption of the Acquis Communautaire.

Professor Scipioni has presented the Ministry with the final draft of the report relative to his team's opinion and comments on Task One, namely that relating to your profession. I promised last January when I addressed your Annual Meeting that I would make the findings of the report public and would invite the team to make a presentation with time for questions from the floor on the content and extent of the report.

It is in everyone's interest that we have an open and unbiased discussion. It is in everyone's interest that you should all be given the opportunity to form an educated opinion. It is therefore in your interest that at this meeting you bring up whatever difficulties or queries you may have today.

I do not wish to pre-empt the team's findings and the advice which they will be offering, but since it appears that certain amendments to the main legislative instruments governing your profession as well as to subsidiary legislation may be necessary, I believe that it will be useful for your Union to appoint advisers to work closely with my Ministry's officials and Government's legal experts in the discussion and draft preparation stages that will lead to legislative amendments.

I said last January, and I repeat it again today, that accession to the European Union will open up many new doors of opportunity for the guiding profession. Accession will bring Malta and Gozo closer to visitors from member states. This fact alone should guarantee a larger volume of tourists to Malta and boost the industry in its efforts to extend and flatten the seasonality curve. More visitors mean more work and more employment possibilities for your guides.

I also told you that accession would not be a threat to your profession and to your employment but an opportunity. I am pleased to learn that my views are shared and endorsed by the opinion and advice expressed by the experts in their report.